How to Apply for a Preferential Housing Loan as an IDP in Ukraine

What are the main IDP mortgage terms?

The Housing for IDPs programme provides preferential mortgage financing through Derzhmolodzhytlo using grant and loan resources supplied under Ukraine's arrangements with international financial institutions, international organizations and foreign states.

The current core credit terms are:

• 3% annual interest;
• a term of up to 30 years;
• the loan must be fully repaid no later than when the borrower reaches age 65;
• a minimum 6% own contribution toward the housing price;
• monthly repayment, with the current programme FAQ identifying annuity or classic repayment as available options.

The Diia application itself is free. The 6% contribution is not an administrative application fee; it is part of the amount the borrower pays toward the property.

Who can apply for the preferential IDP loan?

The current programme FAQ states that applicants can be Ukrainian citizens aged 18 to 65 with internally displaced person status who satisfy the programme conditions and are subsequently selected as winners.

Family members included in the calculation of the loan must also have IDP status. If a family member is not a Ukrainian citizen, the applicant may still potentially qualify, but the loan amount is calculated only for family members who have Ukrainian citizenship. Current programme guidance also excludes a loan where a family member is a citizen of the state carrying out armed aggression against Ukraine.

Can you apply if you already own housing?

The programme is aimed at people who need housing. Current Diia and Derzhmolodzhytlo guidance requires the applicant and relevant family members to satisfy the programme's housing-ownership conditions. For the standard IDP route, housing on Ukrainian-controlled territory can prevent eligibility.

An important exception applies to housing located in territories classified as active-combat or temporarily occupied territories for which the official list does not specify an end date for hostilities or occupation. Such housing is disregarded for the programme under the applicable rules.

The programme also checks whether the applicant or adult family members previously received state housing support, monetary compensation or preferential credit for construction or purchase of housing. The current FAQ provides an exception where housing acquired using that support is located in the specified active-combat or temporarily occupied territories.

What income do you need to qualify?

There is no single fixed minimum salary stated for every borrower. Instead, Derzhmolodzhytlo applies a solvency test.

After the monthly principal and interest payment is deducted, the remaining average monthly income of the applicant and relevant adult family members must be at least the statutory general subsistence minimum for each family member counted under the programme rules, after taxes, charges and mandatory payments.

There is also an upper income limit. The current programme guidance states that the average monthly monetary income of the winner and family members, calculated per person, must not exceed 10 times the average monthly salary in Ukraine calculated using State Statistics Service data.

The applicant must also consent to access to their credit history. Derzhmolodzhytlo therefore evaluates more than IDP status alone before approving the mortgage.

How do you apply online through Diia?

The initial registration stage is online through the Diia Portal. Derzhmolodzhytlo's current instructions state that the application expressing your intention to receive the loan is submitted electronically through Diia.

1. Sign in to your citizen account on Diia.
2. Check and update your profile data if necessary.
3. Open the Housing Loan for IDPs service.
4. Diia checks available register information about your IDP status, property and income.
5. Complete the application and provide the requested details for family members.
6. Sign and submit the application using the electronic method required by the service.

Diia states that the electronic form takes about 20 minutes to complete and that Derzhmolodzhytlo processes it within 1 working day. The result is inclusion in, or refusal of inclusion in, the candidate register.

Does registration mean you will receive a mortgage?

No. Inclusion in the register makes you a candidate; it does not itself reserve a loan.

Derzhmolodzhytlo selects winners from the registered candidates using a random selection method. Time spent in the register does not give priority over other candidates. According to the current programme FAQ, selections are carried out when credit resources are available and, when resources permit, as needed but not less frequently than once every four months.

A candidate's registration remains valid for two years from inclusion in the register. If the period expires before the person obtains a loan, the candidate is automatically removed and may register again through Diia.

What documents does a selected winner need?

The detailed documentation stage begins only after you are selected. For an individual applicant, the official Derzhmolodzhytlo list includes:

• passport copy and, where required, a residence-register extract;
• RNOKPP taxpayer-number evidence, subject to the statutory religious-refusal exception;
• information or an extract from the State Register of Rights to Immovable Property showing whether housing is owned, obtained no earlier than two days before the loan application is submitted;
• income documents used to assess solvency, including employment income for the previous six months where applicable, tax information or relevant FOP income documentation;
• a preliminary housing purchase agreement or other evidence of the seller's commitment or intention to conclude the purchase;
• an independent expert valuation report prepared by a certified valuation entity;
• a copy of the applicant's IDP certificate.

For a family of two or more, equivalent documents are required for relevant family members together with written consents from adult family members included in the loan calculation and documents confirming family relationships.

If you need a Ukrainian taxpayer number before completing financial formalities, see how to get a Ukrainian taxpayer identification number (RNOKPP).

How long does a winner have to submit the documents?

A selected candidate must not treat winning the draw as final loan approval. Derzhmolodzhytlo provides the winner with at least 30 calendar days after selection to submit the application for the loan and the required documents.

The official document page also states that this submission period may be extended on the basis of a separate application from the winner. Follow the exact deadline stated in the notification for your selection round.

How long does Derzhmolodzhytlo take to approve the loan?

After Derzhmolodzhytlo receives the winner's complete package of loan documents, it makes the lending decision within one month, provided the financial institution actually has the necessary credit resources in its accounts.

There is therefore no guaranteed number of days from initial Diia registration to receiving mortgage funds. The process contains a random selection stage whose timing depends on programme financing.

What type of property can you buy?

The loan can finance a qualifying apartment in a multi-apartment residential building or an individual residential house. Under the current rules, the building must generally have been commissioned no more than 50 years ago or reconstructed no more than 35 years ago.

A garden house can qualify if it is registered in the State Register of Rights as residential real estate.

The programme does not finance property rights in future real estate, indivisible unfinished construction objects or future real-estate objects under the current programme guidance. Housing also cannot be located in territories on the official list of active hostilities or temporary occupation for which no end date for hostilities or occupation has been determined.

What happens if you buy a house with land?

If you buy an individual residential house, the seller must have properly registered ownership of the land by the relevant stage of the transaction. The house is sold with the land, but the programme calculates the mortgage amount for the house only, not the price of the land. The borrower pays for the land separately with their own funds, while both the house and land become mortgage collateral under the programme guidance.

How much housing area can the programme finance?

The standard area used to calculate the credit amount is:

• 52.5 m² for a household of one or two people;
• an additional 21 m² for each subsequent family member.

The credit amount is also limited by the permitted price per square metre. The programme calculates a maximum cost using the Ministry's indirect construction-cost indicator and a location coefficient. The current Derzhmolodzhytlo guidance uses coefficients of 1.75 for Kyiv, Dnipro, Lviv, Odesa and Kharkiv; 1.50 for specified regional centres, larger cities and settlements within 15 kilometres of Kyiv or regional centres; 1.25 for specified cities with populations of 100,000 to 300,000; and 1.00 for other settlements.

You may choose more expensive or larger housing, but the amount exceeding the programme's eligible area or value must be paid from your own funds.

What must you pay yourself?

The minimum own contribution is 6% of the housing price. According to Diia, this amount is deposited into the borrower's personal account on the day the credit agreement is concluded.

You must also fund any excess above the programme's normative area or maximum eligible price. In addition, the current Derzhmolodzhytlo FAQ says the borrower pays the applicable costs of:

• notarial services for relevant preliminary, purchase and mortgage agreements;
• the independent property valuation;
• bank account opening and servicing;
• a one-time creditor commission;
• required insurance.

The programme guidance does not publish one universal total for these third-party and transaction costs, so they should not be confused with the fixed 6% minimum contribution.

Is insurance mandatory?

Yes. The current programme FAQ states that during the credit agreement the borrower must annually insure the mortgaged housing against accidental destruction, accidental damage or deterioration through an insurer accredited by Derzhmolodzhytlo, and must also maintain the required borrower accident insurance.

War-risk insurance for the housing is identified separately by the programme as optional where the borrower chooses it.

Why can a selected applicant still be refused?

Selection as a winner does not override the eligibility checks. Current programme guidance identifies refusal situations including:

• the winner does not satisfy the programme requirements;
• required documents are missing or incomplete;
• submitted documents contain false information;
• documents are submitted after the applicable deadline;
• the applicant cannot demonstrate the required solvency or breaches the income ceiling;
• housing ownership, prior state housing assistance or another eligibility condition conflicts with programme rules.

Do not sign an irreversible purchase commitment until you understand the programme requirements for the property, valuation and seller and how the transaction will be financed.

This mortgage is not eRecovery compensation

The preferential IDP mortgage is a repayable housing loan and is distinct from state compensation for damaged or destroyed housing. If your home was damaged by Russian aggression, first check the separate procedure to report damaged or destroyed housing. If you are seeking compensation rather than a loan, see the separate guide on applying for eRecovery compensation.

Common mistakes to avoid

• Assuming that joining the candidate register means the mortgage has been approved.
• Missing the two-year candidate-registration validity period and failing to register again after automatic removal.
• Failing to update family circumstances by withdrawing an outdated registration and submitting a new, accurate Diia application where necessary.
• Including family members who do not meet the programme rules for inclusion in the credit calculation.
• Choosing housing that is too old, is unfinished or future real estate, or is located in an excluded territory.
• Ignoring the maximum eligible area and price and budgeting only for the 6% minimum contribution.
• Submitting property-register information that is older than permitted by the winner-document requirements.
• Missing the post-selection document deadline.
• Assuming the 3% mortgage has no additional transaction costs; valuation, notary, banking, commission and insurance expenses also apply.